Can't Help || Auston Matthews

Ch. 36

Auston's POV- December 2016

"How does it feel to be done?" I asked Esmeralda as I took a bite of my chow mein.

She covered her mouth as she chewed and shrugged.

"Reality is hitting, and the anxiety of Grad school is going to slip in once I'm home"

Home, the idea of her going back to LA was something I personally hated. I had grown used to having Esmeralda around when I wasn't playing hockey. She was making me realize that there was more than just hockey. I was 19 years old, I deserved to have a life away from hockey.

"When will you hear back from programs?" I asked her.

"I will start hearing in about a month"

She took a deep breath and smiled.

"No pressure"

I watched as she reached for her Gatorade and took a sip.

"Have you thought about what career you would like to pursue?" I asked.

I was asking a lot of questions, but the idea of her not being around is something I was not looking forward to. That is if we didn't break up. There was a chance that it could happen between the next week or so, but I was going to try my best to let plans go in that direction.

"Engineering is cool, but I'm leaning more towards pharmacy school. It would be an honor to even be considered by UCSF"

UC San Francisco AKA not in Toronto.

"Did you apply to any programs here in Toronto?" I asked.

"I actually did, my advisor actually recommended me for a research position if I get into either program"

"That's pretty cool" I admitted.

She nodded and sighed.

"Can we not talk about Grad School? I get anxious"

I nodded.

"We should talk about us" I started.

She looked at me.

"What about us?"

"I was hoping we could give long distance a chance" I confessed.

I looked at her as she let out a sigh of relief and gently slapped my bicep.

"You scared me! I thought you were going to break up with me"

"Why would you think that?" I asked.

Her eyes were a bit glossed up.

"You had no kind of emotion when you began talking"

I smiled and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry" I told her.

I pulled away a bit as she looked up at me.

"Auston"

I hummed and pushed her hair back.

"I love you"

I pressed my lips against her and closed my eyes as I kissed her. She cupped my face as we kissed, and I pulled away when our gasping overtook our kissing.

"I love you too" I admitted.

She smiled and kissed my cheek.

"I really don't want to go back home"

"Don't" I said agreeing with her.

"I have to, I don't think my parents will like it if I dropped out of college"